Local polls: CM claims victory; Jaya alleges rigging

Chennai, Oct 13: Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and DMK President, M Karunanidhi today claimed that the chances of DMK led Democratic Progressive Alliance (DPA) winning the local body elections were bright, even as the opposition AIADMK and its allies demanded repoll, alleging largescale violence and booth capturing in the city.

In a brief chat with newspersons after casting his vote at a booth in Gopalapuram, Mr Karunanidhi, when asked about the impression of his election tour, said the chances of DPA winning the elections were bright.

Dismissing as false AIADMK General Secretary and leader of the opposition J Jayalalithaa's charge that the ruling DMK had resorted to bogus voting, he said ''this is the reason she is giving for her party's defeat in the elections.'' Alleging booth capturing, Ms Jayalalithaa, in a statement here, said the DMK men, accompanied by rowdies and anti-social elements have rigged polling in all the 155 wards in the Chennai Corporation with the help of police.

Stating that the elections did not reflect the spirit of democracy, she said the elections, which was nothing but murder of democracy should be cancelled and repoll be conducted with the help of the Army.

Ms Jayalalithaa alleged that soon after polling began at 0700 hrs, DMK partymen captured the polling booths and cast bogus votes after chasing away the election agents of opposition parties. As the elections were conducted by the State Election Commission, which was under the control of the State Government, it remained a mute spectator to the violence and booth capturing, she charged.

The AIADMK approached the higher police officials, including City Police Commissioner Letika Saran, but they were helpless. The party also made futile attempts to contact Election Commissioner Chandrasekaran, she said.

The DMK, on the other hand, blamed the AIADMK for resorting to all kind of dirty politics to mar the polling. Party Organisation Secretary T K S Elangovan, in a petition to Mr Chandrasekaran demanded filing of a case against Ms Jayalalithaa for instigating the AIADMK workers.

He said in ward number 147, the AIADMK men barged into a polling station and took away a ballot box. Two such incidents had taken place in the city, he said and demanded the arrest of the culprits.

A case should be filed against Ms Jayalalithaa for instigating such violence, he demanded.

Meanwhile, Mr Vaiko, General Secretary of Marumalarchi DMK (MDMK), an ally of the AIADMK, alleged that DMK functionaries unleashed ''unprecedented goondaism and hooliganism'' and appealed to President A P J Abdul Kalam to take appropriate steps to cancel the elections and conduct re-poll in a fair and free manner.

In a fax message to the President, he alleged that the DMK functionaries had let lose terrorism in connivance with police.

''Democracy is in peril,'' he added.

UNI

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